The Chief Rabbi, the Pope, and the Holocaust: An Era in Vatican-Jewish RelationshipsIn February 1945, Israele Zolli, chief rabbi of Rome's ancient Jewish community, shocked his co-religionists in Italy and throughout the Jewish world by converting to Catholicism and taking as his baptismal name, Eugenio, to honor Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) for what Zolli saw as his great humanitarianism toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Almost a half a century after his conversion, Zolli still evokes anger and embarrassment in Italy's Jewish community. This book is the first authoritative treatment of this astonishing story. What induced Zolli to embrace Catholicism will probably never be known. Nonetheless, by painstaking scholarly detective work, through interviews in Italy and elsewhere, through the unearthing of private papers not previous known to exist, and through the study of previous inaccessible archival materials, the authors have succeeded in explaining why Zolli left the Jewish fold and joined the Catholic Church. Like Zolli's rabbinical career, Pius XII's long pontificate tells us much about the Church of Rome and its relationship to the Jewish people, particularly with reference to the issue of conversion. The authors focus on the pontiff's World War II policies vis-A-vis the Jews, a subject that has been heatedly debated since Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy was performed in the early 1960s. What Pacelli knew abut the extermination of the Jews and when he knew it, what he said and failed to say, are given special attention in this book. Through the examination of previous scholarship and primary materials (including Pius XI's encyclical on race and anti-Semitism, Pacelli's behavior is evaluated to determine if Zolli accurately gauged the Holy Father's efforts to save Jews. This saga of the two Eugenios will interest historians of the Second World War and the Holocaust and students of history alike. |
Contents
1 | |
2 The Jews and the Papacy | 11 |
3 The Controversy Over Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust Part I | 33 |
4 The Controversy Over Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust Part II | 61 |
5 Chief Rabbi Zolli in Trieste | 89 |
6 Chief Rabbi Zolli and the Holocaust | 111 |
7 The Baptized Rabbi of Rome | 127 |
Background Motives and Legacy | 151 |
9 Epiloguethe Vatican and the Jews since the Holocaust | 179 |
205 | |
227 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
15 February Almansi American Jewish anti-Semitism August Auschwitz baptism Bishop Black Sabbath Cardinal Maglione Carmelite Catholic Church Catholic-Jewish Catholicism century Chief Rabbi Christ Christian death December declared Dezza ebrei Edith Stein encyclical Eugenio Zolli faith Fascist Finaly German ghetto Hebrew Hinda Neufeld Hochman Holocaust Ibid Israele Zolli Italian Jewish Italian Jews Italy Jerusalem Post Jesuit Jesus Jewish Committee Jewish community Jewry Jews of Rome John Paul Judaism July June Kappler Katz Kertzer leaders Leiber Letter from Maurice March Maurice Neufeld Miriam Mortara murder Mussolini National Nazarene Nazi Nazism Neufeld Papers November October Ottolenghi Pacelli Palestine papacy papal persecution Personal interview Poland Poletti pontiff Pope Pius XII Pope's Pope’s President Press published Rabbi Zolli Rauff religious Roma Roman Jewish Roman Jews Rome's Secretary September spiritual synagogue Tagliacozzo Telephone interview tion Trieste Ugo Foà Unpublished Vatican City Waagenaar Waldheim wrote Yad Vashem York Zionist Zolli file Zolli’s conversion Zuccotti